The project hopes to combine instant ramen with a tiny nutritional powerhouse called spirulina.
A new project by the University of Toronto (U of T) aims to solve some of the malnutrition issues in Philippines.
David McMillen, an associate professor of cell and systems biology at U of T Mississauga, has been awarded a $100,000 grant to investigate solutions to the problem. His project, developed with U of T’s Impact Centre, hopes to combine instant ramen – a cheap and popular food staple in the Philippines – with a tiny nutritional powerhouse called spirulina.
According to McMillen, the dish’s nutrient value could be drastically boosted with a sprinkle of dried spirulina. The tiny, green algae has long been a favourite of health-food advocates and is cultivated in many places for easy-to-produce nutrition, but is not yet grown in the Philippines. Boasting 60 to 79 per cent protein, spirulina contains high levels of vitamins A, B12 and K, and provides a source of iron that is easily absorbed by humans.
The project plans to produce packets of dried spirulina to sprinkle over commercially available ramen, but McMcMillen is also working with a partner to produce spirulina-infused noodles, akin to spinach pasta widely available on North American grocery store shelves.
